How do you fabricate something from scratch?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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On the right side of the plane dash, is just a flat open space. It is 18 inches wide by I forget how many inches deep

Pens, sunglasses, Stratus all sit there.

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I want to create something that can be velcroed to that area with a drawer on top for pens, sunglasses, etc and 2 open slots on bottom where I can stick stratus to keep it out of direct sunlight and kneeboard in the other.

Here is a quick rendering of what I am imagining.
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I have gone to a bunch of stores and there are lots of little things like this but for the plane, I need specific dimensions that I am having trouble finding and the back of the table is a half circle.

I am pretty good at McGuyvering things together and building, cutting, etc but not sure where to begin in creating something from scratch.
I am thinking plastic / fiber glass.

Any creative / handy types out there ever make things from scratch (preferably not wood.)?
 
There's a bunch of materials and techniques that can help.

I think the one least expected here is a PCB stock: a thin sheet of fiberglass with copper alloy foil on both sides. It is trivial to use. Cut a model of what you want from construction paper, transfer the design to PCB, cut, solder, paint, done. The semi-circle shape is easy at the radius you need. I did a bunch of these drawers for RF circuitry, with dividers inside and stuff. The downside here is that you'll have to run stiffeners at the size you want, or maybe buy some kind of thick stock. Not sure if hobby shops have it. Mouser is your friend, I guess.

More conventional idea is to use plexiglas or other acrilic base plastic. They are joined with the superglue or model glue. The sheets can be bent with heating by heat gun. You can create a piano hinge-like overlap at the edges, lay little stiffeners in corners, or whatnot. Personally I don't like the stink of them when cut and glued, but you only do it once. That stuff can be gotten in Michael's.

As far as wood goes, don't sell it short. The key idea here is to use appropriate plywood instead of wood. Quality plywood will no warp. There's even fireproof variety. Plywood will not crack along grain. You can neatly machine it. The semi-circle will require something like thin 3-layer veneer stock, but it can be done. There's a million of videos on Youtube about working with it. Very easy to buy retail.

Or, you can fabricate a box from sheet aluminum and use angles and rivets to join it. Again, construction paper design first, then cut, drill, join, paint. I figure that buying a TIG welder and learning to use it for one little box may be too much. This is the most aircraft-like approach, but if it's your first homemade box, you're going to have lots of fun trying to bend it and make joints that have no slits, especially along the circular back. I never was any good with making anything pretty from aluminum stock. It always looked like a Russian peasant made it (which is the case actually).

P.S. Good idea on the drawer though. I heard of someone being killed a AA battery in an otherwise very survivable crash, which was laying on the glareshield.
 
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I make stuff out of bent sheet metal. For this I'd take a drawing to TAP Plastics and see if they could make it for me.
 

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If you have a community college nearby you can see what kind of fabrication classes they are doing. You might get one in metal or even from a 3-D printer. Usually all you have to do is pay for materials.
 
There are any number of materials you could use for this. Visit a real hobby supply shop and look around.

Myself, I'd probably use 3mm plywood. It's thin enough (a tad over 1/10 inch) not to take up a lot of room, thick enough to work with easily, and stiff enough to hold its shape if you buy a decent grade. I'd also prime and paint it with a decent oil-based enamel spray paint to make it a bit more durable and to match the interior of the airplane, and I'd line the bottoms of the open slots with something to slip-proof them.

-Rich
 
Overlooking wood is your first mistake. It's light, and strong, and easy to shape.

You can also choose any of the products from Marlite which are varied and include laminates that are fire retardant. Marlite is not as easy to work with, and requires special glues which are commercially avail.

I build small/medium things all the time. Last project was a custom trailer bed for moving large lightweight molds. I've made tools from tool steel, and in this case, for me I would go with a lightweight wood, then cover with an upholstery that matches, or contrasts with the deck area it sits on. Upholstery shops have scraps that they will give you for free. To make it look really pro, use a very thin foam underlay to take the sharp edges off. You could also get some material that's commonly used on guitar amps. I can't recall the trade name right now, but it looks good over most materials.
 
Ok, I will add wood back to the list.

Also I will see what sort of fraternities I can pledge at that college. It's gonna be great, Party all the time, Start my own "Pilot's gone wild" video series!
 
docmirror said:
Overlooking wood is your first mistake. It's light, and strong, and easy to shape.

You can also choose any of the products from Marlite which are varied and include laminates that are fire retardant. Marlite is not as easy to work with, and requires special glues which are commercially avail.

I build small/medium things all the time. Last project was a custom trailer bed for moving large lightweight molds. I've made tools from tool steel, and in this case, for me I would go with a lightweight wood, then cover with an upholstery that matches, or contrasts with the deck area it sits on. Upholstery shops have scraps that they will give you for free. To make it look really pro, use a very thin foam underlay to take the sharp edges off. You could also get some material that's commonly used on guitar amps. I can't recall the trade name right now, but it looks good over most materials.
Click to expand...

Probably Tolex is what you're thinking. And I agree. That would be an excellent choice.

-Rich
 
I've "fabbed" stuff out of cardboard, whittled on it, modified it, etc, and once I got it where I wanted it to be, used the dimensions and so on from the cardboard "dummy" to make the real part out of the "real" stuff (metal, wood, whatever). It look like that might work here for this project.
 
If you wanna go super light and strong, without breaking the bank, here's another suggestion.

Don't laugh but Ryan reminded me of this process. Get a box of corn flakes or wheaties in the approx X and Y dimensions you want, or can live with. Cut the back down for the Z dimension. Fold the flap over the back, and then get some real light FG cloth, http://www.fiberglasssite.com/servlet/the-Fiberglass-Cloth-cln-2.5-oz-cloth/Categories and cover it carefully. Now use an epoxy resin with a foam brush and just slake it into the cardboard. You may need two coats of FG cause it's really thin stuff, but it still won't weigh anything, and it'll be strong as all get out. Drawers are a hassle, but it could be done. I would do away with drawers, and just put a shelf in half of it.

You would be amazed how light it will be with a deft touch on the resin, don't slog it on just work it in with the foam brush until the FG turns dark like the cardboard.
 
Get some thin plywood, some glue, and some paint, and a $5 hand saw and you'll be done. Wood is always the easiest thing to work with and is light.
 
I think in lieu of a drawer, hinging the top so it opens up will be simpler.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I think in lieu of a drawer, hinging the top so it opens up will be simpler.
Click to expand...

If you do that, you can put a lip or tab of about 3/8 inch high on the bottom front, glue a bit of Velcro to it (and its mating part to the door), and have a simple latch.

-Rich
 
Don't forget to build two...
Never can tell who else might want one...
A spot to hold my iPad. USB charger built into it. Velcro on the bottom and left side so that it it a "temporary" installation. Maybe a water bottle holder. Some holes to put pens/pencils in. Some kind of material that the pen/pencil pushes into and will stay, but is reusable and will not stick to the pen/pencil. Map light.

Oops! Time to get out of here!

Jim
 
Bring it over to the ideas group one Saturday morning we love pondering. LOL
 
Build a model out of cardboard first. It will save you a lot of time and give you better ideas for improvements as you go. :D
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
What's the "Ideas Group"?
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Tim and his buddies who meet for breakfast at Blue Hangar each week. And knowing that group, someone likely has the tooling and materials to make up a decent prototype.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
What's the "Ideas Group"?
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All the old timers that like playing chief, while me and Elio do all the work LOL
BTW I wouldn't have to worry about them reading this because most of them are still using flip phones..LMAO
 
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Geico266 said:
Build a model out of cardboard first. It will save you a lot of time and give you better ideas for improvements as you go. :D
Click to expand...

And nine times out of ten, it's the cardboard model that ends up getting used.
 
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